College Protests During Vietnam

Campus Impact

Much of the anti-Vietnam movement began on college campuses around the country.

The baby boomer generation had just reached a high and in their large numbers, students were able to create more of an impact than ever before.

The Draft Another very important reason that so many

students were entering college, especially males, was because of the desire to avoid the draft.

While many referred to this as 'draft-dodging,' the result was a highly educated and extremely politically involved generation.

Each year through the 1960s, college enrollment in the United States hit a new all-time high: in 1964, student enrollment around the United States hit 5,320,294, an increase of 10.8% from 1963.

Student Action

While protests in reaction to Vietnam are known to be radicalized, most college protests were rooted in non-violence.

The beginning of the student-led demonstrations stemmed from the founding of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

Student Protests

On May 2nd, 1964, the first major student protests against "U.S. involvement in Vietnam" took place

Anywhere from 400 to 1000 students marched in New York and another 700 rallied in San Francisco.

“Teach-ins”

In 1965, the first "teach-in" occurred at the University of Michigan, with 2,500 students in attendance.

Here students and staff gathered in University facilities at night to argue, debate, ask questions, and generally challenge the involvement in Vietnam.

More Student Action

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) led a march of 25,000 people against the war in Washington, D.C.

The first incidents of Draft Card burning took place at Berkeley later in 1965.

Numbers Rise From 1965 on, the amount of demonstrations

and protestors continuously increased, as public approval for the war began to slip even further.

Teach-ins began to amass 30,000 students.

In 1967, 100,000 protestors met at the base of the Lincoln Memorial calling for an end to the conflict; this exhibition was organized and led by a variety of different student-run associations.

Kent State Kent State, Ohio, served as the center stage for

a shift from peaceful protests to violent rallies.

Students began by protesting the presence of ROTC on campus, setting fire to the ROTC building, and when firemen attempted to quell the flames, the protesters cut their hoses.

In retaliation, the National Guard was summoned and 300 fully armed troops were sent to the campus.

Violence at Kent

Protesters taunted the Guards, throwing bottles and bricks and verbally assaulting them; and in response to the mistreatment, the Guards were ordered to fire into the crowd.

Four students were killed, eight wounded, and one was permanently paralyzed.

The War While protests on college campuses were the most

popular form of demonstration, there were other notable exhibitions of the anti-war sentiment.

One of the reasons there was such fierce debate over the Vietnam War was the influx of readily available information.

Casualties of war were shown on national television and Americans became aware of not only the conditions in which their troops were fighting, but also the ways enemies were being massacred.

Sources Burstein, Paul, and William Freudenburg. "Changing Public Policy: the

Impact of Public Opinion, Antiwar Demonstrations, and War Costs on Senate Voting on Vietnam War Motions." American Journal of Socioogy 84 (1978): 99-122. 1 Nov. 2007 .

Churney, Linda. "Student Protests in the 1960s." Yale-New Haven Teachers' Institute. 1979. Yale University. 18 Oct. 2007 .

"College Enrollment in State Surpasses 327,000." The Chicago Tribune 15 Nov. 1966. 10 Oct. 2007< http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com >.

"College Enrollment At All-Time High." The Hartford Courant 17 Jan. 1968. 14 Oct. 2007 .

"College Enrollment is Up 10.8%." The Washington Post 3 Dec. 1964. 10 Oct. 2007 .

Handman, Gary, comp. UC Berkeley Library Socil Activism Sound Recording Project: Anti-Vietnam War Protests. 31 Aug. 2005. UC Berkeley. 1 Nov. 2007 .

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